Characters:A'vel, N'vanikDescription: A'vel is still feeling from finding out about V'con, and talks to N'vanik about it.Location:Dolphin Cove WeyrDate: month 2, day 9 of Turn 9

}:Loseth, is your rider busy this evening?:{ Tsogath asked the bronze.
}:My rider is having some feelings he wants to talk about with
someone. I think your rider would be good at listening to him.:{

There was a pause as Loseth communicated with his rider. }:Mine says
he will make time. Where would yours like to meet?:{

}:Could we stop by the weyr of your rider? Or him visit ours? My rider
does not want to be in public or in an office, he wants to be
comforted,:{ Tsogath answered.

}:My rider will come to yours. Would you share your ledge with me? I
would like to spend time with you.:{

}:I will make space,:{ the green replied immediately, shifting on her
ledge to make room for the bronze dragon.

It wasn't long before Loseth landed and crooned a greeting to Tsogath.
N'vanik slipped down from the bronze and headed toward the entrance.
"A'vel? Are you okay?"

Tsogath made an affectionate noise and twitched her tail to brush
against Loseth's hide.

A'vel lifted his hand and waved at N'vanik. He was sitting on a chair
at his table, which had a flask of wine on it, but his glass had a
small amount in it. "I had a day. How's Loseth?"

"Gloating," N'vanik said with a little smile. As he walked over to the
table, he asked. "How is Tsogath?"

"She struggled a bit with the formation change up but we're working on
it, I promise," A'vel said. He didn't want to disappoint the
Weyrleader's faith in A'vel's ability to be part of his wing.

"Do you want some?" he asked, remembering his manners. "I don't
usually drink much but I got some news today and..."

"Sure." N'vanik took a seat. "Why don't you pour us both and glass and
we'll talk about it." He wondered how bad it was.

A'vel took comfort in topping his glass and pouring N'vanik one before
he spoke. "So I wanted to get some clothes that fit me nicely so I
could have something good for the Hatching, and I reached out to V'con
because I knew he was a tailor and I thought he'd do a good job. So I
showed up for a fitting appointment. We got to talking and it turned
out our dads had the same name. Weird, right?"

His fingers tightened around his glass as he kept speaking. "But his
was a traveler and mine was a Harper, so maybe it was a coincidence.
But we wanted to know more. So V'con brought me a sketch of his dad
that his mother kept and...he looks like my dad must have when he was
young. I think he's my brother."

"Oh? I know this must be strange for you, and it sounds like it must
be painful. But it's not all that unusual for Weyrfolk to discover
family we didn't know we had." N'vanik thought of how he'd been
surprised by Cosani, and also how Corowal's illegitimate offspring
seemed to pop up all over. "Not so unusual for anyone, really. Holder
and Hall folk just try to hide it."

"I hope I don't sound ungrateful to find out. I mean - V'con is nice
and it means I have family here and it means it isn't true that my
whole family isn't talking to me." he qualified.

"I guess that's what my father must have done, hidden it," A'vel added
after a moment. "I have to find out what happened. He's older than me
so did my father have an affair with V'con's mother? Did he sleep with
her before he met my mother? Do we have any other half-siblings
floating around? My mother tried so hard to give me siblings but it
never happened. I guess it must be her fault, not his..."

N'vanik made a face. "'Fault' isn't a nice way to put it, but I know
what you mean. Family can be complicated A'vel. If your dad cheated on
your mom, it'd be perfectly reasonable for you to be upset at him. Or
upset at him for hiding a sibling from you. But maybe he was with
V'con's mother before he met yours, and maybe he didn't know she got
pregnant."

A'vel breathed out. "You've got good points. I'm too emotional about
this to be thinking straight," he admitted.

"There's nothing wrong with being emotional about something like this.
It could change your whole life."

"It certainly upends everything I thought I knew," he said.

N'vanik gave him a gentle smile. "Life has a way of surprising you. I
didn't know about my oldest daughter until she showed up at the Weyr
demanding to see me."

"Were you happy to have a daughter you didn't know about?" A'vel
asked, surprised by this news.

N'vanik made a face. "It was... complicated. Her ma and I made
mistakes that made her life hard. I wish I could've been there for
her, and I tried to make up for it. But I'm happy to know her _now_
and I'm very proud of her."

"That sounds really great," A'vel said through a sudden lump at his throat.

"It is great." N'vanik reached over to pat his arm. "If you want to
confront your da about this, I can come with you in case he shouts at
you like he did when you Impressed. Or if he refuses to talk, maybe I
can scare the truth out of him."

"Let me think about it, but I might just take you up on that," A'vel
said. "It matters a lot that you'd say it."

"You think I'm being nice to you but I really just want to yell at
your da some more." N'vanik winked.

"Before I Impressed, I couldn't imagine anyone caring enough to yell
at him about me. But now that makes me feel better."

"You're worth it. If someone can't see that, that's their problem, not yours."

There was a warm glow of pride at the sound of that. "I'll let you
know when we're going to head that way," is what he said.

"Good. I'm serious about helping, so don't feel shy to ask. And I hope
something good comes out of this for you." If A'vel had a half-brother
here, maybe that could help fill the hole left by his father being an
absolute asshole to him.

"Me too. Thank you so much for stopping by, and for everything you do
for me. You've done so much to help me feel like I belong here, and I
appreciate it," A'vel murmured. He still found it hard to believe how
protective the Weyrleader was of a regular old wingrider like himself.